The
Resolution of the
Advanced Camera for Surveys

Click on boxes for a "true resolution"
image of that detail.

The
Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS)
detector is the largest that has been
placed onboard Hubble. Each detector
is roughly 4096 x 4096 pixels and each
pixel represents a view that is 0.05
arcseconds in the sky. The Heritage
image of the Sombrero galaxy is a mosaic
of six ACS pointings, (consecutive positions
of the telescope arranged in a 3 x 2
matrix. The final result is the highest-resolution
image of the Sombrero that has ever
been taken with any ground- or space-based
telescope made: nearly 12,000 pixels
wide by 8,000 pixels high.

Living on the Edge

Galaxies
come in many shapes and sizes, but spiral
galaxies that are tilted such that their disk
is eye-level to our line of sight are in a
unique class called "Edge-on Galaxies."
These magnificant creatures give us a glimpse
into the dusty structure that obscures much
of the central nucleus.

From
the Southern Hemisphere- the center of the
Milky Way yields amazing dark dust lanes that
are actually visible with the naked eye- it
is incredibly evident that we live in a spiral
galaxy. Because our solar system is located
very close to the plane of the galaxy, in
a dark site our own Milky Way appears to us
as an edge-on spiral.

Below
are several Hubble Heritage edge-on spirals
with quite different looking disks. Click
on each image to learn more.

NGC
4013

M104

ESO510-G13

NGC
4650A

Check out the Sombrero Galaxy in the Infrared!

NASA's Spitzer Infrared Telescope also imaged
the Sombrero Galaxy. Visit the press
release for more details.

Waxing Poetic on the Sombrero

By
Indiana University Emeritus Professor, Dr.
Martin Burkhead

"A
view of M104 under dark skies with the 82in
at the McDonald Observatory in West Texas
was simply wonderful. The best way to approach
M104 was from south of the nucleus, driving
the telescope north. With my eyes well dark
adapted, the halo was first sensed, quite
distant from the nucleus; then a dark band
entered the field of view followed by the
brilliant, almost stellar nucleus. At a magnification
of 900 times and a field of view of 6 arc
minutes, M104 filled the eyepiece. The nucleus
was seen as a brilliant light in a foggy bowl
surrounded by a dark band. I was able to measure
the visual nucleus - 2.8 by 1.6 arc seconds.
Visually the entire image was soft-foggy.

"Now in front of me I can see on this
Hubble image a very much smaller, but still
"boxy" nucleus at the center of
a thin disk. Dust is apparent at the nucleus.
To the south the dark band is filled with
a complex mixture of dust and starlight. The
spiral pattern can be traced throughout the
disk. Are we seeing brilliant blue stars in
the disk and along the dust lane? I believe
I can distinguish globular clusters embedded
in the halo. And what seems remarkable is
that distant galaxies can be seen shining
thru M104 right up to the edge of the disk.
This is a beautiful image of a great spiral."

The Distance Modulus
to the Sombrero galaxy can be calculated
using the following formula:

"So it would seem we are seeing stars
(clusters?) scattered in the disk (especially
on the disk detail frame). What is the magnitude
limit? Globular clusters at M = -8 would be
at m = 21.7. I think I can identify some of
these clusters.

"I still marvel at the work and skill
it took to produce this image!"

-
An interpretation of the Hubble image from
a life-long Sombrero observer,
retired Indiana University astronomer, Martin
Burkhead, who was also a university professor
of Heritage team members Zolt Levay and Forrest
Hamilton.